ARLINGTON—Rangers manager Ron Washington wasn't ready to say Nelson Cruz had busted out of his slump after Cruz hit the decisive home run on Saturday.

"He's also capable of catching gaps and getting singles. Once he starts doing all of that, we'll know he's back," Washington said.

When Cruz doubled to the wall just right of center field in his first at-bat on Monday, his manager was feeling pretty good. "When Nelson is putting the ball to the middle of the field, especially the opposite way, you know he's staying on the pitch," Washington said.

Man, did Cruz stay on his pitches Monday in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series. The last one he stayed on, he slugged into the left-field seats for an 11th-inning grand slam that beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 and put the Rangers two wins away from a return to the World Series.

Told that his was the first walkoff grand slam in postseason history, Cruz smiled. Such dramatics are no big deal.

"I had a basketball court at my house when I was a kid so I always try to shoot like Michael (Jordan)," he said. "You always want to be part of this kind of moment."

Cruz has been part of the three most important offensive moments of this series. Besides his Game 1 homer that proved the difference in a 3-2 victory, Cruz tied Game 2 with a leadoff homer in the seventh. He has three homers in the first two games; everybody else has combined for one.

The seventh-inning blast came off starter Max Scherzer, who had reacted like his work was done when he escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the previous inning. He entered the dugout only to be told by manager Jim Leyland that he wanted the righthander to face Cruz in the seventh. "I thought he was throwing great," Leyland said of Scherzer, who allowed two first-inning runs before settling down for the next five innings. He retired 12 in a row at one point.

In the seventh, Scherzer went ahead in the count 1-2 but did not get a 94 mph fastball as elevated as he wanted and Cruz hit it into the seats in left.

Even after Cruz's seventh-inning heroics, Leyland ordered his closer, Jose Valverde, to intentionally walk Mike Napoli with the score 3-3 in the ninth inning to face Cruz. Said Leyland, "Cruz has been the guy who has been a little quiet."

Cruz did not have a chance to play hero then because Valverde promptly hit him in the wrist with a pitch, sending the Rangers slugger to the ground in pain. At first he wasn't sure he even could stay in. "I thought it was worse," he said. "After a few seconds and the adrenaline kicks in, it was OK."

That left the bases loaded with no outs but Valverde escaped by inducing a popup and a 3-2-3 double play. He then worked a three-up, three-down 10th. After that, Leyland had to bring in right-hander Ryan Perry, who had worked four scoreless innings in the postseason but still is no Valverde.

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Perry gave up three singles without getting an out before Cruz stepped in. He immediately put a scare into the Tigers by yanking a pitch deep but foul. He had no doubt where his next drive would land. "The first one, yes, but I knew the second would be fair," he said.

Cruz had struggled since missing the first half of September with a hamstring injury. He hit .190 with one homer in 42 at-bats to close the regular season, then went 1-for-15 in the first round. He says he's just now getting enough at-bats to return to form, which for him includes keeping his hands back long enough to drive pitches to the opposite field.

"Three days ago a lot of (media) people were around asking what's wrong with Nellie," teammate Michael Young said. "But we do not get concerned about any of our guys. He had really good at-bats the past couple of days."

Washington provided another clue that Cruz is back when the manager said we likely have seen the last of Cruz in the seven-hole.

As Cruz was completing his turn around the bases, he took off his batting helmet and scooped it toward the plate to shoo away teammates and give him room to step on home.

"Nellie had to get through about five or six white jerseys," Young said. "But he's bigger than all of us." He's supplying the biggest hits, too.